September 18, 2008 The Pump Handle

In 1971 under the National Cancer Act, Congresss authorized the 3-person President’s Cancer Panel which is charged with monitoring the “development and execution of the National Cancer Program” and preparing periodic progress reports for the President.  Over the years, the Panel has examined quality of life for cancer patients, access to care issues, and lifestyle risk […]

September 16, 2008 The Pump Handle

Celeste Monforton will be testifying tomorrow at a hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections (10am, 2175 Rayburn). She’ll be speaking about the Department of Labor’s proposed worker health risk-assessment rule, which might have gone undetected by worker-health advocates had Celeste not spotted its name on a White […]

September 8, 2008 The Pump Handle 2Comment

“This happens. We live with that.” These are the words of ironworker Luis Guzman, who was working at the site of a new Manhattan skyscraper Tuesday when his fellow worker, Anthony Espito, 43, fell 40 stories (roughly 400 feet) to the ground. He was killed instantly. It appeared Mr. Espito was in fact wearing a […]

September 4, 2008 The Pump Handle 1Comment

by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure McCain wants to go full speed ahead for nuclear power (that’s a maverick’s way of dealing with climate change?) and Obama seems to feel friendly to it, too, as long as the waste disposal issue can be solved, satisfactorily (which it doesn’t seem it can be, but that’s another […]

September 3, 2008 The Pump Handle 3Comment

On Friday, August 29, Carolyn Merritt, 61, the former chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (2002-2007) passed away after a valiant battle against metastic breast cancer.  Advocates for workers’ safety will remember Ms. Merritt as an outspoken expert who minced no words when she insisted that work-related injuries and fatalities are PREVENTABLE. Tammy Miser […]

August 28, 2008 The Pump Handle 4Comment

Will someone just go and put up a sign “Proudly Screwing Workers: 2,827 Straight Days” on the Labor Department building?  Late yesterday I learned that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Asst. Secretary Leon Sequeira and her other political minions sent a proposed rule to the Federal Register which will change the process by which OSHA and MSHA assess workers’ risk to health-harming […]

August 27, 2008 The Pump Handle

by Tom Bethell (Posted with permission from The Mountain Eagle, Whitesburg, KY) Just when you think you’ve seen it all, somebody in the Bush administration comes up with another way to compromise somebody else’s rights. The latest example is Richard Stickler, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. MSHA has been much in the […]

August 26, 2008 The Pump Handle 4Comment

Hmph!   I just read on the OMB/OIRA website that they have completed their review of Labor Secretary Chao’s proposal to change the way that OSHA and MSHA assess workers’ risk of health hazards.  The OIRA website notice says their review was completed on August 25, and it was approved “consistent with change.” 

August 25, 2008 The Pump Handle

It looks like California is once again picking up the slack for a federal agencies failing in their regulatory responsibilities. In this case, they’re addressing the issue of chemicals in consumer products, as a step toward a broader “Green Chemistry Initiative,” which is “aimed at promoting development of safer chemicals with policies to spur green […]

August 25, 2008 The Pump Handle 1Comment

On Saturday afternoon, I sat at my computer screen and watched Barack Obama announce Senator Joe Biden as his running mate.  I think it’s a good pick for a multitude of reasons—some personal, some political and some practical.  When Biden spoke on Saturday, I found myself smiling and nodding my head in agreement.  When he said the following, […]